3 minute read
Will the retired sprint star be put through the sale ring?
The news of Imperatriz's surprise retirement poses the question; what happens next with the superstar sprinter?
The five-year-old is a mare that any breeder would love to have in their paddock, a 10-time Group 1 winner who could be crowned Australian Champion Racehorse before the year is out.
But retained to breed is not the style of Te Akau Racing, who raced the daughter of I Am Invincible and Shamardal mare Berimbau after purchasing her for $360,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Te Akau has a proven recent history of selling its elite-level mares.
Black Caviar and Winx are the only mares in Australasian racing who have won more Group 1 races than Melody Belle, but Te Akau sold that 14-time Group 1 winner through Magic Millions.
That daughter of Commands realised $2.6 million when sold to Yulong at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Te Akau used Gavelhouse to sell their nine-time Group 1-winning daughter of Fastnet Rock, Avantage, to Coolmore's Tom Magnier for $4.1m.
It is not hard to mount a case to suggest Imperatriz, who is by the Australian Champion Stallion of the past two seasons who is hurtling towards a third-straight title, would have more appeal than each of those.
That would give Te Akau Racing reason to believe, with the market as it is, she could top the Australian broodmare record of $5 million, which was paid for Milanova in 2008.
That will ensure there is strong courting by not only Magic Millions, who has the National Sale ion the Gold Coast in late May, and online operator Gavelhouse, but also Inglis, who has the prestigious Chairman's Sale on May 9.
No matter what happens, even though her racing career is now over, this isn't the last time we'll see Imperatriz commanding headlines this year.
